NAMDEB is on top of its game again, having turned a net loss of N$414 million in 2009 around to a net profit of N$419 million last year.
The diamond giant also has a few aces up its sleeve to ensure that it continues to mine around one million gems until 2050, Namdeb managing director, Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi, said on Wednesday.Zaamwani-Kamwi contributed the turnaround in 2010 to a recovery in the global market, as well as the tough decisions taken by Namdeb during the world financial crisis to run a ‘lean and mean’ company.The sparkling financials will see just over N$1 billion flowing into state coffers as taxes, while the board is deciding on how much dividends to pay to shareholders De Beers and the Government, Zaamwani-Kamwi said.Nearly 1,5 million carats were mined last year, up from 929 000 in 2009. Of this 991 000 carats came from Namdeb’s marine operations (736 000: 2009), while 531 000 (627 000: 2009) were produced on land.A total of 1,522 million carats were sold in 2010 after Namdeb dipped into its stockpile too. Diamond sales amount to around N$5 billion, about N$1,7 billion more than in 2009.Zaamwani-Kamwi said Namdeb has comprehensive plans to ensure that the life of the mine is extended to 2050. This will need a capital injection of N$5 billion over the next ten years.The MD said Namdeb could finance this partly from its own resources, but that Government and De Beers will have to help too. Another option is that Namdeb lists on the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX), she said.’We remain cautiously optimistic about the diamond market generally,’ Zaamwani-Kamwi said.’Continued positive growth is expected, albeit at a lower rate. The world is not back to where it was prior to the onset of the global economic crisis and risks to growth remain,’ she said.
